In Newaygo County, food insecurity is a real threat. With a population of just over 50,000 individuals, 1 in 6—or as much as 8,000 neighbors—are grappling with food insecurity. This includes 2,130 children.
The presence of the food center at TrueNorth Community Services in Fremont and mobile food pantries run by the volunteers of Northland Church of Christ in Grant are imperative in improving the lives of Newaygo County community members. The individuals behind these resources are doing all that they can to lend a helping hand to their neighbors.
TrueNorth Community Services of Fremont extends an abundance of services to its community members, including those currently experiencing food insecurity.
Their full-service, self-select food center is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., providing a variety of nutritious foods for neighbors. A selection of fresh produce (of which, 90 percent is locally grown) is available for neighbors to choose from. Freezers are packed with different types of protein and dairy. Canned goods, grains, bakery items and more are available on the shelves.
On a typical day, Hunger Prevention and Children’s Services Director Mike Voyt sees 50–90 families stopping by the food center.
“We see some larger families that are struggling a lot right now,” he said. “We see a lot of seniors who may be on fixed incomes coming through here that rely on us to be able to pay other bills like their mortgage or their rent. A lot of families that are just starting out, young families we see come through here. So it’s quite a mix. Folks in all walks of life find themselves in a situation where they need this hand to be able to move forward.”
In addition to the food center, volunteers at TrueNorth grow numerous types of produce and microgreens such as kale, broccoli, mizuna, pea sprouts, and more. They offer cooking workshops, baking classes, luncheons, summer food programs, care packages for low-income seniors, and more in their well-rounded efforts to combat community hunger.
Through their combination of programs, in 2024 alone, TrueNorth Community Services served over one million meals to community members, rescued 122,039 pounds of food from being throwing away, and put together nearly 12,000 weekend food packs for kids in the area.
Nourishing Neighbors at the Northland Church of Christ
In addition to the work being done by TrueNorth Community Services, volunteers at the Northland Church of Christ work hard to package and hand out food to neighbors in Grant and beyond. At their recent distribution on July 22, overseer Paul Roberts and his team of volunteers, handed out apples, peaches, grapes, potatoes, yogurt, mushrooms, plums and milk.
Overall, nearly 5,000 pounds of food were sent out in the span of roughly two hours. At their previous mobile food pantry in June, another 5,000 pounds was also distributed, including such foods as cottage cheese, onions, potatoes, vegetable soup, and assorted produce.
Paul said the need is clear. “There’s a lot of hurting people,” he said. “I mean, you’ve seen the cost of a house. I don’t know how people make it. I really don’t. You used to be able to live all right, on your Social Security, but now it’s like, ‘I gotta pay a ton of taxes on my land’. And I just really feel for people. I’m glad Feeding America is out there. We couldn’t do it on our own. We would probably do something, but it wouldn’t be as adequate as this.”
Among individuals at the mobile pantry that day:
- Lauretta, in her devotion to ensuring her kids were being fed, found herself skipping meals.
- Alysha, also a mother, said the mobile pantry is a helpful resource she uses to be able to keep her children fed.
- Jim, who attends mobiles to pick up food for four families, including large families with as many as seven kids to feed.
Good food helps everyone in countless ways
With any number of obstacles in their path, thousands of individuals in Newaygo County alone are fighting food insecurity every day. They’re doing everything they can to feed their loved ones—and the resources of organizations like TrueNorth Community Services and Northland Church of Christ go a long way toward making that possible.
To generous donors and grantors like Fremont Area Community Foundation, Mike offers these words:
“Food is one of those things where not only can you have an economic impact on families, but you’re also improving their long-term health. We’ve looked really closely at not only providing food, but providing food that is healthy and wholesome. Food that is going to ensure that people are maintaining their health, making sure children are going to school not hungry, [helping them] perform at work, all of those things. That’s one of the amazing things about supporting food distributions and assistance to families in the area. You’re improving their quality of life. You’re saving communities money and health expenses by providing food for them.”